Published: Monday, October 21, 2013 at 12:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, October 18, 2013 at 4:22 p.m.

Some changes are in the air at Davidson Water. The board of directors named its new $42 million water treatment plant on Koontz Road after outgoing general manager Gregg Stabler and have named Ron Sink as the new CEO and general manager.

"I am extremely honored by having the plant named after me," Stabler said. "It never crossed my mind they would do that because there are so many other board members and employes who deserved to be recognized."

Davidson Water is a member-owned water utility with 70 employees serving approximately 140,000 people with 59,000 connections in Davidson, Randolph and Forsyth counties.

Stabler, 63, was born in Welcome and graduated from North Davidson High School in 1968. His first experience in the industry that would become his lifelong career came when he started working summers installing water lines for Davidson Water, which was called North Davidson Water at that time. After graduating from Appalachian State, Stabler began working for North Davidson Water as the bookkeeper.

At the time North Davidson Water was limited in its ability to expand because it had topped out the $4 million limit Farmers Home Administration would loan to any one entity. Even though it could not borrow any more funds, the utility could sell water and provide management and maintenance to other nonprofit, FHA-funded systems including West Davidson Water, Wallburg Water, Hasty Water and East Central Water. Stabler was doing the bookkeeping for all the systems and would drive between all five offices just to have paperwork signed or checks approved.

"I did a little bit of everything in those days, but I spent a lot of time going back and forth," Stabler said.

In 1972, Stabler was named office manager but was offered a reprieve from traveling after the FHA law was changed and the five systems merged to form Davidson Water. In 1987, Stabler became the general manager of the company and held the post for 26 years.

Stabler said that over the years, Davidson Water has seen a steady increase in people tapping onto the system. After numerous additions and upgrades, the plant was processing 20 million gallons of water daily. In the mid 2000s, the board of directors recognized they could not keep upgrading and needed to address the future water needs for the county. They approved the $42 million project to build a water treatment plant and raw water intake system at the Yadkin River that could handle the current water needs but will be capable of addressing any future needs.

"The system was growing like crazy," Stabler said. "We had been over our capacity limit and knew we needed to start that conversation with the board about building a new plant."

Last year, as the new water treatment plant was nearing completion, Stabler began considering retirement, but he did not want to leave in the middle of such a huge project. He also knew it would take some time to decide who would take his place as general manager. In January, he let the board know he was ready to hand over the reigns, and they began the process of finding his replacement. A ribbon cutting for the treatment plant took place in June.

"I felt like I needed to stay until the plant was substantially done," Stabler said. "I didn't want to walk away because of the employees. I wanted to make the timing coincide with the needs of the company and what was going on with the water plant."

Sink, 56, was one of the names put forward as a prospective general manager candidate. Sink has deep roots with Davidson Water. He was just 8 years old in 1965 when a group led by his father, C. Boyce Sink, built the water system that would eventually become Davidson Water. As a teenager, Sink held part-time summer jobs on crews installing the water lines, even working under Stabler. Sink has been on the Davidson Water Board since 1991 and was elected president in 2007.

"I have a vested interest to continue what Gregg has started," Sink said. "It wouldn't have been such a smooth transition if he hadn't already had such good people already working for us. We all want to do what is in the best interest of our members."

Sink resigned from the board when he was in the pool for becoming general manger, and Lee Comer was elected president. Stabler has now joined the board of directors and said he is pleased to have the opportunity to explore other aspects involving Davidson Water by attending meetings and conferences.

"I am still keeping up on the latest information on water use and want to see what other systems are doing. I want to try to be as helpful as possible being on the board," Stabler said.

Sink said that even though the transition has been fairly smooth, he still calls Stabler on a regular basis to receive his input on different aspects of the job. Sink said now that the plant is completed, Davidson Water will began focusing more on upgrading the infrastructure of the water system. But as always, its main focus is providing clean, drinkable water to all the citizens of Davidson County and beyond.

Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.

<p>Some changes are in the air at Davidson Water. The board of directors named its new $42 million water treatment plant on Koontz Road after outgoing general manager Gregg Stabler and have named Ron Sink as the new CEO and general manager.</p><p>"I am extremely honored by having the plant named after me," Stabler said. "It never crossed my mind they would do that because there are so many other board members and employes who deserved to be recognized."</p><p>Davidson Water is a member-owned water utility with 70 employees serving approximately 140,000 people with 59,000 connections in Davidson, Randolph and Forsyth counties. </p><p>Stabler, 63, was born in Welcome and graduated from North Davidson High School in 1968. His first experience in the industry that would become his lifelong career came when he started working summers installing water lines for Davidson Water, which was called North Davidson Water at that time. After graduating from Appalachian State, Stabler began working for North Davidson Water as the bookkeeper. </p><p>At the time North Davidson Water was limited in its ability to expand because it had topped out the $4 million limit Farmers Home Administration would loan to any one entity. Even though it could not borrow any more funds, the utility could sell water and provide management and maintenance to other nonprofit, FHA-funded systems including West Davidson Water, Wallburg Water, Hasty Water and East Central Water. Stabler was doing the bookkeeping for all the systems and would drive between all five offices just to have paperwork signed or checks approved.</p><p>"I did a little bit of everything in those days, but I spent a lot of time going back and forth," Stabler said. </p><p>In 1972, Stabler was named office manager but was offered a reprieve from traveling after the FHA law was changed and the five systems merged to form Davidson Water. In 1987, Stabler became the general manager of the company and held the post for 26 years. </p><p>Stabler said that over the years, Davidson Water has seen a steady increase in people tapping onto the system. After numerous additions and upgrades, the plant was processing 20 million gallons of water daily. In the mid 2000s, the board of directors recognized they could not keep upgrading and needed to address the future water needs for the county. They approved the $42 million project to build a water treatment plant and raw water intake system at the Yadkin River that could handle the current water needs but will be capable of addressing any future needs. </p><p>"The system was growing like crazy," Stabler said. "We had been over our capacity limit and knew we needed to start that conversation with the board about building a new plant."</p><p>Last year, as the new water treatment plant was nearing completion, Stabler began considering retirement, but he did not want to leave in the middle of such a huge project. He also knew it would take some time to decide who would take his place as general manager. In January, he let the board know he was ready to hand over the reigns, and they began the process of finding his replacement. A ribbon cutting for the treatment plant took place in June.</p><p>"I felt like I needed to stay until the plant was substantially done," Stabler said. "I didn't want to walk away because of the employees. I wanted to make the timing coincide with the needs of the company and what was going on with the water plant."</p><p>Sink, 56, was one of the names put forward as a prospective general manager candidate. Sink has deep roots with Davidson Water. He was just 8 years old in 1965 when a group led by his father, C. Boyce Sink, built the water system that would eventually become Davidson Water. As a teenager, Sink held part-time summer jobs on crews installing the water lines, even working under Stabler. Sink has been on the Davidson Water Board since 1991 and was elected president in 2007.</p><p>"I have a vested interest to continue what Gregg has started," Sink said. "It wouldn't have been such a smooth transition if he hadn't already had such good people already working for us. We all want to do what is in the best interest of our members."</p><p>Sink resigned from the board when he was in the pool for becoming general manger, and Lee Comer was elected president. Stabler has now joined the board of directors and said he is pleased to have the opportunity to explore other aspects involving Davidson Water by attending meetings and conferences. </p><p>"I am still keeping up on the latest information on water use and want to see what other systems are doing. I want to try to be as helpful as possible being on the board," Stabler said.</p><p>Sink said that even though the transition has been fairly smooth, he still calls Stabler on a regular basis to receive his input on different aspects of the job. Sink said now that the plant is completed, Davidson Water will began focusing more on upgrading the infrastructure of the water system. But as always, its main focus is providing clean, drinkable water to all the citizens of Davidson County and beyond. </p><p>Sharon Myers can be reached at 249-3981, ext, 228 or at sharon.myers@the-dispatch.com.</p>